Ronnie

Thanks, good writeup. I appreciate it.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Typically, locking the brakes will stop you the fastest, but then again, </div></div> I believe you are going to have some that disagree. I will be the first. Friction between tires and asphalt are the greatest at the point just prior to a slide, and it decreases as soon as you start sliding. One of the reasons is because a sliding tire generates so much heat at the contact patch that the rubber there begins to liquefy and act as a lubricant which allows the tire to move easier over the roadway than it would without sliding. To make the fastest stop possible you want to use enough brake to 'almost' make the tires slide. This is not to say that ABS will make the car stop faster than an experienced race car driver but it would certainly help anyone in a panic situation that locks the brakes and holds them. BTW, I personally do not like ABS.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Richard S</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If you have to go there, might consider the upgrade. Upgraded calipers are only $41 apiece for reman, but you need new [larger] rotors. </div></div> Richard, if you know everything needed to do the upgrade, would you please write a short writeup or tutorial on how to properly upgrade the brakes? I have been on this forum about 8 months now and still do not know exactly what calipers, rotors, fittings and other parts are needed to do the job. I have read many bits and pieces here in the forum about doing upgrades to the brakes but they seem to fizzle out before anyone completes the job. It sure would be nice to read how to do the job right from start to finish and know what parts are needed. Thanks in advance. Ron

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: steakneggs</div><div class="ubbcode-body">1988 Reatta.I had to replace the rear metal brake lines due to rust. I gravity bled them. Now I have no rear brakes or power assist. Both brake lights are on. Pump motor runs forever without building pressure. Help! The brakes worked fine before the line rusted. </div></div> Do you still have front brakes? Will the car stop at all?

Try using these instructions. Follow them to the T, step by step in the order they are written. Forget what you normally do when bleeding a regular brake system. Pump, hold, bleed and repeat - does not work properly on the TEVES system. Since your lines are probably full of air it will take some time and a lot of brake fluid to get the brakes bled properly.

Could you possibly have the wrong rubber ring that goes around the thermostat? It should look square instead of round and should have a grove inside where the thermostat fits in. I doubt you have the wrong intake manifold. The inside of the manifold where the gasket fits should be clean and free of corrosion. Maybe a little vasoline or other lubrication might help it go in. It should be a snug fit but you should be able to push it in by hand. Same thing for the water neck that has the o-ring around it. It should just be snug when pressed in by hand. Good luck!

ekvh The rubber ring/gasket should have a grove on the inside to allow it to go around the outside of the thermostat as shown in the photo below. The rubber ring does not go under the thermostat or on top of it. It goes around it. The small photo shows a thermostat with the gasket installed. The large photo shows the gasket installed on the new thermostat on the left and the old thermostat without a gasket installed on the right.

Let me tell you about my transmission leak nightmare. My Reatta is an 88 model. When I bought it the pan gasket was slowly dripping. I changed the fluid and filter using AutoZoo's best gasket. The same drip was there after about 2 days. I could retorque the bolts to 120 inch pounds and the leak would stop for about 2 days and start again. I read about the loctite on the bolts fix and figured that must be my problem. After all, the bolts were coming loose. This time I was going to get it right. I took a lot of time and checked the pan with a straight edge to be sure it was good and straight. I drained the fluid again, cleaned all the surfaces and bolt holes with carb cleaner and reassembled the pan using a new Felpro gasket (I installed it dry just as the Felpro instructions said) and put blue loctite on the bolts. Drove it about 2 days and started have the same problem as before. I called my friend who works at the local Buick dealership and asked him what to do next. He told me that he had problems with the TH440 pans leaking on just one corner like mine was (driver's side in the rear) and said a new pan had cured the problem. I ordered a new pan from gmpartsdirect.com for about $50 bucks. Installed it as described above. Guess what.... SAME DAMNED LEAK! I started searching the Internet in earnest for a solution to my problem and found that many of the import cars are not using a gasket at all at the factory. Toyota, Honda and others are using just a sealer. I found the only aftermarket sealer approved by Honda was "The Right Stuff for Imports" by Loctite. I drained the fluid and cleaned everything up again. I applied The Right Stuff to the pan according to the directions. I slowly and evenly tightened bolts down till they bottomed out and then torqued the bolts to 200 inch pounds. I have been leak free now for over 2 months. I have checked the torque on the bolts three times and they have not loosened at all. I hope this might help.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ikesleeping</div><div class="ubbcode-body">We are talking about two different things. DOT refers to commercial truck enforcement not cars. Sorry sometimes assume everyone has the same knowledge..Merry Christmas drive safe </div></div> DOT Department of Transportation - Plans, implements, maintains and manages an integrated transportation system for the movement of people and products, with emphasis on quality, safety, efficiency and the environment. DOT has nothing to do with commercial truck enforcement in Tennessee. In this case, I'm happy knowing that everyone does not have the same knowledge. And in the words of the famous Forest Gump: That's all I've got to say about that...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ikesleeping</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I,m guessing you have never had the pleasure of the Tenn.famed DOT inspectors going over your equipment. The fines for suspected violations can run into hundreds of dollars which goes into Tenn.coffers. It gives one a chance to meet various Tenn. lawyers so as to recover the fine monies imposed by them. Remember to be careful of what you wish for... Merry Christmas to everyone.. be safe! </div></div> No, I have never had the pleasure of inspectors going over my commercial truck. I don't own one. However, it does give me pleasure when I drive by the weigh station and see those inspectors putting on their coveralls and crawling under a truck to do their job. It makes me feel safer. I would not like paying fines, but laws need some type of deterrent to keep people from repeatedly breaking them. Laws without teeth are useless and should never be implemented in the first place. I'm sure there are Tenn. inspectors that go beyond what is reasonable but I don't believe they are motivated by generating revenue as much as they are by a true concern for safety. After all, their sons and daughters have to drive on the same highways as the trucks. They know the destruction of property and lives that happens when something fails on one of the large trucks. As Info: T-DOT is responsible for building and maintaining the highways. Tennessee Dept. of Safety is responsible for inspections, enforcing the regulations and licensing/titling of vehicles.

http://www.reatta.net/headlight_repair.html

Here in Tennessee we are a little behind the times. We have just recently passed laws that make liability insurance mandatory. We do not currently have vehicle inspections for passenger cars but we do for commercial trucks. If we do pass laws that require inspections on our cars, I would like to see a system similar to what is in place for the trucks. The Tennessee Department of Safety is in charge of the inspections. They have no interest in who does the repairs as long as they are done correctly. They have no reason to find problems in order to make money from repairing them. My daughter lives in North Carolina and she is required to take the car to an authorized inspection facility that is run by Joe Sixpack at his local garage. Unless you have a new car like my daughter, he is going to find something wrong. That is why he wanted to be an inspection station in the first place. I don't believe I would want an insurance company involved in inspecting my car for similar reasons as a repairman inspecting it. They would have an interest in bringing the vehicle up to unreasonable standards to "save" money which is anther way of saying "make" money in the name of safety. I believe safety is important and I believe inspections in Tennessee are needed. I also think the inspectors need to be completely separated from those who stand to profit by repairing the safety problems.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 63viking</div><div class="ubbcode-body">excuse me but: There is a rubber o-ring around the thermostat that prevents water from getting past it. The ony thing that the gasket does, is stop water from escaping from the intake and the thermostat housing. It has nothing to do with how fast or slow the temp comes up. </div></div> Maybe I should have used the words "rubber ring around the thermostat" instead of "gasket". On my car it is not an o-ring. It is a rubber ring that goes around the thermostat like in the photo below. I thought we were talking in reference to ekvh's original question. Maybe I stand corrected. The o-ring goes around the manifold coolant outlet.

The purpose of the thermostat is to stop flow of water through the engine until the temperature of the water reaches a predetermined temperature. If a gasket is not in place to provide a seal between the thermostat and the thermostat housing, water can bypass the thermostat and flow through the engine, somewhat defeating the purpose of the thermostat.

Hi Bob, I buy and sell on eBay quite often. I have purchased a vehicle of eBay that was over $10,000 and sold a boat for over $5000 so I have been on both sides of the fence.There are some things I see that are hurting the sale of your car. First, this is a bad time of year to sell cars on eBay. Shoppers are looking for Toys, clothes and other Christmas gifts. The number one thing hurting you in selling your car is that you have zero feedback. Buyers on eBay are motivated more by them trusting the seller than anything else when it comes to big ticket items like vehicles. They want to know that you have a good track record and have treated buyers fairly in the past. In your case they have no way of knowing how you will treat them after the sale is complete because you have no past history. Whoever buys your car will be someone willing to take a chance in order to get a super deal. Also you should be more willing to work with the buyer by picking him up at the airport only 25 miles away to make him feel like he is getting something for FREE and for heavens sake, throw in the Bulldog license plate. Other things hurting you are: Having "PayPal account required" at the top of the page scares potential buyers away. Asking for $1000 within 24 hours makes people think you are trying to get too much money up front and throws up a red flag. $500 would be more reasonable for cars in this price range. Requiring the transaction to be completed in 3 days is also unreasonable. Most people can't make arrangements to travel and pick up a vehicle in that time frame. 7 to 10 days in more reasonable. Last but not least is photos. You need more photos. Take them so the buyer feels like he is able to sit in the car and look around. Make him feel he really knows the car before he buys it. You have a beautiful car. I believe the things mentioned above are keeping it from selling. If it doesn't sell this time. Consider selling a dozen or so other items on eBay to get you some positive feedback and then try again. I think it will make a difference. Good Luck!!

Would you be wanting to sell the 17" wheels later?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: dnt</div><div class="ubbcode-body">HOw hard is it to get at, remove and clean the EGR? </div></div> Careful about applying too much force to the bolts. They have been known to break off easily. Use a good penetrating oil a day or two before removing. Aero Kroil is the best but hard to find.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Barney Eaton</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It could be several things. A low battery could cause the symptoms, as the altenator tries to get the battery back to a full charge. I cannot find anything in the service manual, but built into the BCM logic, there are controls that monitor voltage (as well as many other things) Example... in the old days, you might try to start a car and it would barely turn over. That battery voltage monitor will not let the starter turn if the voltage is below the preset....... so a Reatta will crank or not.... never a "I think I can, I think I can...." </div></div> Good diagnosis Barney. As usual you were right on the money. I will file this away for future reference. It's good to have someone on this board that is so familiar with the small details of how the Reatta operates. Thanks for being here to help! Ron

Viking are you talking about after market lights made for a Camaro? Or are you talking about getting lights off eBay that originally came on a Camaro? If so what model would work the best? Please give some details so I can order the correct lights.

What model works best? Thanks for the info!

Mine work fine but don't supply much light. I have not found brighter bulbs. The reason they may not be offered is because the reflector and lens are made of plastic and may not be able to take the extra heat a larger bulb would make. Has anyone installed an original looking replacement light from another car or maybe an after market light that could be made to fit and put out a brighter light? Thanks

I have never replaced one so I can't help there. Could the wires be for the power mirror?

Downloaded fine for me. It takes a long time even with cable connection. You need Acrobat Reader to open.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What you are saying is that education is not important. I disagree. </div></div>How you got that out of what I said is amazing. I would be the last to poke fun at anyone on this forum or otherwise. If it were not for using a spell checker you probably couldn't read what I'm writing right now. I copied what I wrote from one of dozens of websites that have it displayed for the humor in it. I intended for it to be funny. That is the reason it had the smiley face ( ) at the end. Maybe you should consider being a little more "willing to crack a smile in humor" every once in a while. I want to apologize if I offended anyone. That was not my intention. I never dreamed anyone could think that I was criticizing a good education by what I wrote.

<span style="font-weight: bold">Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. </span> Anyone counting?